FOG founding and accomplishments

Mark Thorson in Oregon, at the 2017 solar eclipse

Friends of Galileo started with an amazing first year.  During the spring of 1995, Chuck Ring and Sue Piper were instrumental in attracting local astronomy aficionados to our charter meeting in May.   That spring’s evening sky was enshrined on our club T-shirts (except for a reversed crescent Moon).   
 
Nine industrious novices built their own Newtonian telescopes with Dobsonian mounts (“Dobs”), directed by Carl Zambuto (Nisqually Valley Telescope Maker’s Workshop).   Zambuto is now a nationally respected telescope mirror manufacturer.  He supervised them grinding their own 6” or 8” parabolic mirrors in Bert Jepson’s garage.  

When all nine telescopes were finished, FOG invited John Dobson, Ph.D. to talk at our “first light party”, i.e. a first look at the sky through their new telescopes. 

Dr. Dobson had us spellbound with his 2+ hours discussion of cosmology and the universe.   Dobson was already internationally known for inventing the “Dobsonian telescope” design and for starting public “Sidewalk Astronomy” viewing in San Francisco. 
 
Our December 1995 meeting was FOG’s first Christmas Party, with a presentation of theories of the “Star of Bethlehem” by Mark Thorson.
 
Friends of Galileo Astronomy Club is dedicated to sharing our enjoyment of astronomy through educational programs, by observing the cosmos, and serving our community as amateur astronomers. (Our bylaws say, “as a non-profit association dedicated to advancing the understanding and enjoyment of astronomy through educational programs, practical experiences, and social interactions”).
 
FOG’s most notable accomplishments include:

• Producing a monthly public meeting with an educational scientific program and “Sky Report” during 10 of 12 months for 23+ years;

 

• Celebrating our annual July Picnic with solar viewing and our annual Christmas Party with an astronomy themed white-elephant gift exchange;

 

• Publishing a high quality monthly Newsletter (edited by Sue Piper 1995-2001, Becky Kent 2001-2004, Dick Sybert 2004-2010, Greg Smith 2011-present);

 

• Conducting summertime “Sidewalk Astronomy” public viewing around the full moon weekends;

 

• Hosting club viewing “Star Parties” at several nearby dark sites (Willow Grove Park, Mike’s site near Castle Rock, Mt. Pleasant site, Elk Rock near MSH, etc.) on new moon weekends during May through September;

 

• Hosting special public viewing events for many Lunar Eclipses, the 2017 Solar Eclipse, the 2012 Transit of Venus and the 2014 Transit of Mercury, and Comets Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp;

 

• Providing astronomy commentary for The Daily News, our local newspaper, for Greg Smith’s Astronomy column and Ted Gruber’s “Looking Up” report in the monthly Columbia River Reader, and for Ray Byer’s astronomy announcements on KLOG radio;

 

• Encouraging the professional astronomy career of Longview native, Karin Sandstrom, Ph.D. (MMHS ’98, Harvard ‘02, U.C. Berkley ’09, Max Planck Inst.-Heidelberg ’13, present Astrophysics faculty at UCSD).  Karin has presented her research at nine annual FOG Guest Astronomer Lectures during her decade of “stellar” education and rising career as a future leader among US women in science;

 

• Hosting many observing and educational astronomy events for local elementary, middle, and high schools;

 

• Hosting the educational Astronomy Booth for Earth Day celebration every April at the Cowlitz Convention Center;

 

• Installing, fund raising, and maintaining the “Model Solar System Walk at Lake Sacajawea” in Longview (with corresponding school curricula at multiple grade levels) since 2001;
  

 

• Painting and maintaining the highly accurate “Human Sundial” on the Lower Columbia College campus since 2005;

 

• Partnering with MSH Institute and Rose City Astronomers for the annual public Mt. St. Helens Star Party at Coldwater Science & Learning Center in July 2016, Sept. 2017, Aug. 2018, and planned for summer 2019;

 

• Celebrating FOG member, Mike Fiest’s, international award for winning Astronomy Magazine’s 1998 best astrophotography by an amateur;

 

• Celebrating former FOG president, Dave Powell’s, 5-year directorship of the Oregon Star Party, (OSP is a national convention of >600 amateur astronomers every August in Ochoco NF of Oregon), and enjoying Dave’s renown annual laser-guided Constellation Talks at OSP;

 

• Arranging club excursions to meetings at Rose City Astronomers in Portland, Goldendale Observatory, Oregon Star Party, Table Mt. Star Party in Ellensburg, Onalaska Observatory, and others;

 

• Maintaining a liaison relationship with Rose City Astronomers, (America’s largest astronomy club with >600 members);

 

• Sharing solar eclipse experiences from Asia, Europe, and Australia through photos by Bill Norvell and Sue Piper;

 

• Hosting >100 guest lectures over 23 years by college faculty, NASA-JPL Solar System Ambassadors (Greg Cermac and Les Hastings), regional experts among the amateur astronomy community (Howard Knytych, Steve Swayze, Greg Babcock), Dr. Karin Sandstrom (ISM, research projects on Hubble S.T & Hershel S.O.), plus our own experts Mike Fiest (meteorites, astrophotography, new telescope technology), Steve Powell (physics), Ted Gruber (night observing), Bill Norvell (solar eclipses), Mark Thorson (sundials, ancient astronomy), Lisa Day-Sandstrom (PBS editor for “Seeing in the Dark”, amateur astronomy documentary),  Dave Powell (constellation mythology), Fred Wood (telescope making), and others;

 

• Sharing members' visits to Greenwich Observatory, Stonehenge, England, Observatories at Kitt Peak Arizona, Haleakala summit, and Mauna Kea, southern hemisphere sky, U. of Arizona Mirror Lab, LIGO in Hanford, solar eclipses, etc.

 
Respectfully submitted,
Mark Thorson, charter member of FOG

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